The interior cabin area of a boat is limited by the boat's exterior configuration. As a boat's exterior dimensions get smaller, the available interior space into which a cabin can be formed similarly decreases to a point at which interior cabin space is severely limited or not even possible. The boat making industry has developed several exterior features to help maximize interior cabin space. For example, some sport boats have raised cabin tops in the forward portion of the boat that are non-utilitarian deck areas, i.e., the cabin top is designed to keep water out, but not necessarily for any particular crew activity on its exterior surface. Such raised cabin tops increase the interior area of the cabin, but place limits on the use of exterior deck space. To access the forward portions of the boat deck, a center walkway between two dash panels is often utilized. Such center walkways are often designed to be the same level as the cockpit, which may be lower than the cabin top, such that they impinge on the available interior cabin space.